I’m sure you’ve heard about the school in Mississippi who canceled their prom rather than let a lesbian couple attend. Now a school in Georgia has done the opposite and will allow a gay senior to attend the prom with his boyfriend. But some of the students want to make sure no one might think their town was not actually full of assholes:

A small group of Bleckley County High School students staged a rally at the courthouse Thursday evening to protest their high school allowing a gay student to take his boyfriend to the prom.

“We knew Derrick was gay,” said Keith Bowman Jr., a high school senior who showed up at the rally. “They don’t want (Cochran) to be known as a pro gay town.”

Yeah, you wouldn’t want people to get the idea that you’re not a bunch of ignorant bigots. Next thing you know they might think you’re gay too, you know. Hey, maybe if you beat the guy up that would really send the message that you’re not pro-gay. That’ll teach him. And it will help you establish your hetero cred at the same time. It’s a win-win.

And get this attempt to rationalize their behavior without admitting to their bigotry:

Most of the dozen attending the rally said they weren’t bothered by Martin being gay or being allowed to attend prom with his partner. But they said the school system’s decision has brought too much attention to their small town.

Good thinking. Nothing helps avoid bringing too much attention to your town like staging a public protest against that attention.

The rally’s organizer, Amber Duskin, sent text messages to high school students Wednesday asking them to show up.

The senior said she asked her high school to return her prom ticket money and does not plan to attend because of Martin.

How much of a bigoted jerk do you have to be to not go to the prom because there might be a gay person in the same building?